Members of the Army’s 58th Infantry Battalion seized various firearms and ammunition and other items from NPA rebels in an encounter in Gingoog on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo from the Facebook account of the 58th Infantry Battalion)
ILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte, Philippines — A suspected member of the New People’s Army was slain on Friday in an armed encounter with soldiers of the Army’s 58th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Pigsalohan in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental.
Lt. Col. Christian Uy, 58th IB commanding officer, told the Inquirer that the troopers were conducting intensified combat operations in the Mount Balatukan when they encountered 10 armed men believed to be remnants of the NPA’s Falcon platoon.
Uy said heavy rain provided an advantage to the soldiers as the rebels did not notice the troopers advancing into their lair in the forest.
At the encounter site, the troops seized an AK47 rifle, two M16 rifles, an M14 rifle, and a .30-caliber carbine.
They also found a dead NPA rebel who was not immediately identified.
A week earlier, an NPA fighter was killed in a clash in Barangay Alagatan, Gingoog.